I am very glad to have happened upon The History of London, a book written in 1894 by Sir Walter Besant (1836-1901 ) which I discovered through a Librivox audiobook read very capably by volunteer Ruth Golding. Deep in the book, Besant tells why he thinks his history is important and as a historian who (hopes) he is only sidetracked into journalism, I found myself rather inspired by this passage:
Consider how your liberties have grown silently and steadily out of the original free institutions of your Saxon ancestors. They have grown as the trunk, the tree, the leaves, the flower, the fruit, grow from the single seed. The Folk Mote, the 'Law worthiness' of every man, the absence of any Over Lord but the King, have kept London always free and ready for every expansion of her liberties. Respect, therefore, the ancient things which have made the City–and the country–what it is. Trust that the further natural growth of the old tree–still vigorous–will be safer for us than to cut it down and plant a sapling, which may prove a poison tree. And with the old institutions respect the old places….You will be better citizens of the present for knowing about the citizens of the past.
2. The next lesson is your duty to your country. .. You have the same rights that your ancestor had. He was jealous over them: he fought to the death to preserve them and to strengthen them. Be as jealous, for they are far more important to you than ever they were to him. You have a hundred times as much to defend: you have dangers which he did not know or fear. Show your jealousy by exercising your right as the most sacred duty you have to fulfil. Your vote is an inheritance and a trust. You have inherited it direct from the Angles and the Jutes: as you exercise that vote so it will be ill or well with you and your children. Be very jealous of the man you put in power: learn to distinguish the man who wants place from the man who wants justice: vote only for the right man: and do your best to find out the right man. It is difficult at all times. You may make it less difficult by sending to the various Parliaments of the country a man you know, who has lived among you, whose life, whose private character, whose previous record you know instead of the stranger who comes to court your vote. Above all things vote always and let the first duty in your mind always be to protect your rights and your liberties.
Tags: walter besant, london, history, democracy, voters
Depending on one's political leaning, the passage quoted above can be used to apply to the ongoing discussions around prorogation.
Some may interpret it as a warning that our institutions are in danger and in need of preservation:
“Respect, therefore, the ancient things which have made the City–and the country–what it is.”
The rhetoric used by the anti-prorogation crowd could use that quote to argue that the walls of Parliament have been besieged by barbaric hordes — people like me who support the Conservatives.
On the other hand, “Trust that the further natural growth of the old tree–still vigorous–will be safer for us than to cut it down and plant a sapling, which may prove a poison tree.”
What is the sapling or poison tree? The changes to prorogation proposed by both the NDP and now the Liberals, whose leader has once again changed his position — perhaps temporarily?
Limiting a Prime Minister's power to prorogue Parliament may seem like a good idea to the anti-prorogation crowd at this time as a means of rebuking Harper, but like many changes that are not well thought out, once those changes are effected the law of unintended consequences may indeed bear poisonous fruit.
My 2¢'s worth.